Health and wellbeing
Emotional wellbeing
Feeling different from usual or noticed a change in your behaviour? Find out more about some common feelings and mental health symptoms, how to cope, and where to go to get help.
- sad feelings and depression
- loneliness and isolation
- worries, stress and anxiety
- self-confidence and self-esteem
- anger
- bereavement
In addition, find more information if you're experiencing any of these emotions and find information about how you can speak to someone about these feelings.
Sad feelings and depression
Everyone feels down, sad and upset sometimes especially when we are faced with difficult situations. These feelings usually pass over time and we get back to feeling like ourselves again. Sometimes sad thoughts can last longer and start to effect the way you enjoy life. If you've been experiencing sad feeling for a while it could be a sign of depression.
Depression happens to lots of people and can be caused by many different reasons. Sometimes there is no obvious reason for why someone might feel depressed.
Some of the signs of depression include:
- continuous low mood or sadness
- feeling hopeless and helpless
- having low self-esteem
- feeling tearful
- feeling guilt-ridden
- feeling irritable and intolerant of others
- having no motivation or interest in things
- finding it difficult to make decisions
- not getting any enjoyment out of life
- unexplained aches and pains
- changes in appetite and/or weight
- disturbed sleep
- feeling anxious and worried
- having thoughts of harming yourself
It can be hard to deal with and even though it might seem hard it's important to talk to someone you can trust about how you are feeling.
Loneliness and isolation
Loneliness can affect everyone, all of us will experience feelings of loneliness at some point in our lives. There are many reasons why someone can feel lonely or isolated. Sometimes it can feel difficult to cope with and to talk about. Even though you may feel like it now, you're not alone. There are things that you can do to help you feel better and there is lots of information and advice available to support you.
If you feel that your loneliness is impacting on your day-to-day life, then it’s important that you speak to someone that you trust; this might be family and friends, or a teacher, mentor, your GP or an organisation who offers support.
Worries, stress and anxiety
Everybody feels stressed or worried from time to time. It's completely natural to feel worried when you are thinking or stressing about things, but that doesn't make it easy to deal with. You may also feel anxious when you are experiencing worries. Anxiety is a normal part of life, and most people feel anxious sometimes about certain life situations. Sometimes we can feel anxious without even knowing the reason why.
All sorts of reasons can make you feel worried, for example:
- new experiences
- arguments
- worries about money
- making friends or fitting in
- being bullied
- being ill or someone in the family being ill
- dangers in the world
Keeping your feelings to yourself can leave you feeling upset, angry or alone. It’s OK to feel worried or anxious but it’s also important to talk about what’s going on and make sense of things. Try talking to someone you can trust or to one of the many organisations on this page who can provide you with support and advice.
Self-confidence and self-esteem
If you're lacking confidence and not feeling good about yourself then you are not alone. Lots of people feel like this sometimes and it can be caused by many different reasons. Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. When we have a healthy self-esteem, we tend to feel positive about ourselves and about life in general. When our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a more negative way. We also feel less able to take on the challenges that life throws at us.
If you have low self-esteem or confidence, you may hide yourself away from social situations, stop trying new things, and avoid things you find challenging. Sometimes your confidence can go up and down depending on the situation you're in.
Building up your confidence can take time, but there are lots of ways to boost your confidence and self-esteem:
- recognise and celebrate what you are good at
- be kind to yourself
- build positive relationships around you
- be more assertive
- challenge yourself to try new things
- think about your social media usage
Have a look at Young Minds' 6 tips for boosting your self-esteem for more helpful advice about boosting your self-esteem and building confidence.
Anger
Anger is a normal emotion that everyone experiences. It’s OK and perfectly normal to feel angry about things that you have experienced. You can feel angry for lots of different reasons, we all have different triggers. Sometimes you may not know why you feel angry. You might get angry about something that has just happened or something that you have bottled up for a long time. Learning to identify and manage your anger in a safe way will help ensure you don’t hurt yourself, others or the things around you.
If you have experienced any of these things whilst feeling angry, it might be a sign that you need some support:
- hitting or physically hurting other people
- shouting at people
- breaking things
- losing control
- spending time with people who get you into trouble
- constantly ending relationships or getting in trouble at school or work
If you often feel angry there are things that you can do to help yourself. Other people can help too. Talk about how you are feeling with family members or carers, friends or someone else you can trust like a teacher or your GP.
Bereavement
Losing someone important to you is one of the hardest things to experience in life. If you're young, bereavement can be even more difficult. But support and advice are available to help you get through it.
Grief is a natural part of recovering from the loss of someone important in your life. Everyone grieves differently and you may feel a mixture of different emotions:
- shock and disbelief
- sadness
- guilt
- despair and helplessness
- fear, anxiety and worry about how life will be now
- relief (particularly after a long illness)
- anger
The NHS Bereavement and young people page has lots of information and support on how to cope with bereavement.
If you're finding it hard to cope after the loss of someone close to you please speak to someone that you trust and get the help and support you need.
More information if you're experiencing any of these emotions
There is a lot of information and support available to help you if you are experiencing any of the feelings mentioned on this page. Find support from:
- The Go-To-Emotional wellbeing and mental health website which has lots of useful information on wellbeing and mental health for young people in North Yorkshire. They can help you find the right help and support, to help you stay well, whatever is going on in your life
- Young Minds - My feelings website has lots of information about some common feelings and mental health symptoms, including how to cope, and where to go to get help
- Childline - Your feelings website also has lots of useful information and support to help you make sense of how you're feeling
Speak to someone about these feelings
If you're experiencing any of the feelings mentioned on this page and would like to speak to someone for advice and support, there are organisations who can help.
York Mind Young Peoples Service offer a range of different support for children and young people aged 8 to 25 experiencing struggles with emotions or mental health, such as often feeling low, stressed or worried. You can self-refer and if you are thinking about accessing support for yourself but feel anxious or unsure, a member of their young people's team can talk this through with you to help you with your decision. Telephone: 01904 643364 or email: [email protected].
Kooth is an anonymous online mental wellbeing community offering free and safe support to young people. Watch a video about how Kooth works online.
Get support from Childline if you’re under 19. You can confidentially call free on telephone: 0800 1111, chat online or email about any problem big or small.
The Mix offers support to anyone under 25 about anything that’s troubling them. You can call their free helpline for young people on telephone: 0808 080 4994 available 7 days a week from 3.00pm to 12.00am, email via their online contact form or chat one-to-one 7 days a week from 3.00pm to 12.00am.
